Selling A Large Collection

TomGshotput · May 11, 2009 12:51PM

Used to read these forums about a year ago, before spending time on active duty. In a strange twist picked up a very large, very old, very low grade baseball card collection at the end of last year. Quitting my job soon and will spend the summer moving to the other side of the country. Once out west I would like to sell the collection, but unsure as to the best path to take. Haven't had much luck in talks with national dealers. Not sure about auction houses. Sell on this board? Dred the thought of having to use ebay. Looking for any suggestions, places to sell, how to break it down in various lots, camera or scanner recommendations

I've collected cards for a while, but never before was it worth my time or effort to actually sell them. Though I am fortunate to have sufficent savings, income will be zero in six weeks, so will definitely want to both liquidate easily and maximize sale price

The Cool thing since the condition is generally so bad, only most cards are so low won't have much trouble deciding what is worth grading

Tom

TomGshotput · May 11, 2009 12:52PM

Taken a few months to sort, organize and inventory everything, this is approximately what it consists of:

50 t206
20 t205
100 Goudey, most 1933 a few 34
20 Diamond Stars
80 to 100 1939 Play Ball
1941 Play Ball DiMaggio
One Old Judge card
One of the t206 is a PSA 4, almost all the rest of these are poor, though a few have been graded
a decent percentage of Hall-of-Fame players among all of these

1968 complete set, mid-grade
67 and 69 partial sets
1961 Fleer near set
200+ 1955 Bowman, most with part of the border cut off
100+ 1953 Topps
a few hundred more Topps and Bowman from the 50s
a few thousand Topps cards from the 70s (mostly 72 and 76)

50 or so PSA graded 1959 Topps (Mostly 4s and 5s)
200 or so other graded cards -- majority would sell for no more than $10.

some modern stuff a half step above junk

thenavarro · May 11, 2009 2:07PM

Got any hall of fame autographed rookies?

If so shoot me a PM,

Mike

WinPitcher · May 11, 2009 2:13PM

Hi Tom

Good luck, much of that vintage stuff should sell regardless of condition.

Steve

stevek · May 11, 2009 2:15PM

Approximately what price range are you looking to get for the lot?

Bunker · May 11, 2009 9:07PM

Good luck with the collection! Post some scans if you get time.

Bosox1976 · May 11, 2009 9:34PM

I'd give it a shot here for a fair price - take 25 or so digital photos along with the description here - you might get a fair deal. You would certainly get more by grading and selling one by one, but time is money too.

TomGshotput · May 12, 2009 12:31AM

Thanks for the replies guys, lot of very helpful PMs, think I replied to all of them. When I picked it up there was a letter of appraisal for $45 000 -- which I knew to be hogwash, though I do wish I kept that note. If sold as is, to save me the work, looking for $12 to $15k, though open to negotiation. Auction houses scare me since they do all the work, but see only a fraction of the profit, there is little incentive for them to maximize value as much as possible. And so far trying to talk with people who advertise that they buy this type of stuff has just been a waste of time

Don't have the time, nor equipment to put together fair offers right now. Like I wrote above, have no job at the start of July, spend that month moving, then spend August getting everything ready, and starts selling by September -- still a long way off, but starting early can't hurt. I'll definitely start here and see what happens; send in a few things to be graded, put together $100 to $200 lots on request and see how far that gets.

A couple low quality pictures with a cell phone, 79 of the 33 and 34 Goudey's (14 Hall-of-Fame players and 44 t205 and t206 (nine Hall-of-Fame players). Might take some more pictures in the coming days just to practice and keep myself entertained (that carpeting is absolutely aweful):

nam812 · May 12, 2009 12:58AM

Tom, I know you gave a broad view of what is included in this collection, but I would think that most (if not all) the potential buyers with the means necessary to purchase a large collection like yours would need a much more detailed list (with card numbers and/or player names) before agreeing to your price (or even tendering a fair offer). In no way am I saying the collection is not a good deal at the price level you are seeking, but it will be a very hard sell without knowing exactly who and what is included. Good luck with your sale and also with your move.

lsutigers1973 · May 12, 2009 1:03AM

What Nick said but I will add that I see a lot of t205's and 206's. No one is going to risk the kind of coin that collection would command based on your opinion that they are not fakes or reprints.

TomGshotput · May 12, 2009 1:05AM

I understand that. I am really not looking to sell right now. I am looking for finding out how to best way to go when I do sell in a few months and I have gotton a lot of good insight. The $10 to $15k is just a general range of what it would take to move the whole thing

lsutigers1973 · May 12, 2009 1:09AM

I am not fond of the idea of selling a large collection in one lot. I tried that for a friend a few years ago with an opening bid of $5000. Ended with over 500 views but no bids. Broke the collection up into mostly singles with a few small lots. Total realized sales price was around $7500.

TomGshotput · May 12, 2009 1:19AM

Good point on the fake/reprint stuff. I guess that is why the auction houses can take such a huge cut of the sale

To me, selling a bunch of singles at under $20 would be almost as bad as selling everything at once. Just need to find the right size lots to get the most money for the least hassle

Beck6 · May 12, 2009 1:20AM

As stated above the t-cards would probably sell best graded, atleast to let the buyer know they are atleast authentic. Maybe break some of the 70's into lots and sell them to pay for the cost of grading the cards that are gradeable. Get a subscription to VCP and do some research to find out what sells well graded and for what. It would probably be a fun project. I would agree that the auction house is not the best route. My two cents.

sagard · May 12, 2009 1:27AM

If the T-cards are in poor condition, excluding the hall of famers grading them could easily be a big waste of time and money.

Tom knows the best way to get the most money is to make an accurate inventory and then take the time to make decent photos and then re-post.

I've found setting fixed prices on individual lots to be the most effective.

smtjoy · May 12, 2009 1:47AM

I think the best way to sell a lot like this is to break it down, having a detailed inventory is a MUST- then have most or all depending on the grade of the T-205 and 206's graded and sold in small lots and hofers seperate, grade a couple of the better 33 goudeys/diamond stars/playballs then sell the HOFers as singles and rest in small team lots, on the topps sets have the main HOFers graded- mantle, mays, aaron, clemente and any hofer rookies, then choose to sell any high grade cards seperate but if all mid grade then sell as lots. Sets and near sets sell good as a lot, mixed year lots do not sell very well. I would figure out how many cards you plan to get graded and see if PSA or SGC will work you out a deal or look for any specials they are running over the next 3 months that would help save you grading fees.

On the selling I would post them for sale on the bst here and on net54 (to avoid any fees) then use ebay for what is left. If you were to go the auction house route you are looking at giving up 5-10% on the selling side plus another 15-20% fees on the buyer side, thats a lot of money to give up imo. One thing to note, the bigger the lot the less you will get per card but the less work involved, you need to find the right balance on how much time to invest in getting these sold vs how much you want to maximize their value. I would subscribe to VCP for a month after you get everything back from grading so you can have a good idea of what things are selling for by grade and use this info to price all your singles and lots.

Good luck!

Bosox1976 · May 12, 2009 2:22AM

You might also consider talking to Brent Huigens, who is a very well respected seller on ebay - who gets top dollar and would do all of the work for a very reasonable percentage:

Link to Brent's ebay page - Prewarcardcollector

At least send him a link to this thread and see what he thinks. Check out his sold auctions too.

His Fees - reasonable when you see his closed auction prices versus other sellers.

stevek · May 12, 2009 7:31AM

<< <i>Good point on the fake/reprint stuff. I guess that is why the auction houses can take such a huge cut of the sale

To me, selling a bunch of singles at under $20 would be almost as bad as selling everything at once. Just need to find the right size lots to get the most money for the least hassle >>

Considering what you stated, selling it by the lot line items the way you have them posted, wouldn't be a bad idea...very well might get close to maximum value.

I don't think you're gonna get 10K no matter what you do.

stown · May 12, 2009 7:35AM

Thank you for putting together a very generous contest.

Did I win yet?

stevek · May 12, 2009 7:35AM

PS...I know I and others here would be happy to make you an offer but I for one am gonna have to see some better scans than what you posted. I would say scan the top 5 or 10 of what you feel are the most valuable cards, and you might receive an acceptable decent offer for the lot. If ya list em on ebay you're gonna have to scan em like this anyway so I don't think you're wasting your time by posting some pics here..

jimq112 · May 12, 2009 8:01AM

<< <i>PS...I know I and others here would be happy to make you an offer but I for one am gonna have to see some better scans than what you posted. I would say scan the top 5 or 10 of what you feel are the most valuable cards, and you might receive an acceptable decent offer for the lot. If ya list em on ebay you're gonna have to scan em like this anyway so I don't think you're wasting your time by posting some pics here.. >>

I also would suggest buying a good scanner. I'm very happy with my epson perfection 4490 photo. It's very easy to use and costs around $150. Well worth the investment.

Also it wouldn't hurt to give the location of the cards. I've traveled several hundred miles to buy collections like yours. I gladly pay more for collections I can see and take with me.

Bottom line is that the more good work you put into it, the more you get. You have to decide if the extra expense and effort is worth the extra dollars you will get.

Allen · May 13, 2009 6:53AM

Seems like you are expecting to get a lot more than the lot is probably worth. Like everyone else has said, lots of good scans and detailed lists are needed to see what you have and how to get the most out of it.

nam812 · May 13, 2009 7:05AM

"I don't think you're gonna get 10K no matter what you do."

"Seems like you are expecting to get a lot more than the lot is probably worth."

While you both may end up being right, I don't think either of those statement are fair to the OP until more detail of what's involved is shown to us.

WinPitcher · May 13, 2009 8:08AM

IMO the best way to sell this collection would be by lots and singles.

One price buys it all is tough.

Steve

TomGshotput · May 19, 2009 12:39AM

Trying to packing everything up, but just keep looking through everything instead. Worst thing is I've actually been looking around at buying stuff. That would be horrible
Just messing around with the cell phone

1939 Playball, some kid had all of these pinned to their wall 70 years ago

Over 500 different 1969 Topps. Missing Mantle and Ryan, but most all other stars are there. Really like them a lot, surfaces seem almost new. Corners are just enough to keep it from being a high-dollar set. All the stars from 68 and 69 (Clemente, Rose and Williams at the top are the only three with corners nice enough to be worth grading

Finally, the few cards that are worth grading, 41 DiMaggio, t206 Marquard (only pre-war Hall-of-Fame card above a one), Old Judge, 68 Mantle (oc, but corners, surface and edges are all nice), 1941 Double Play Williams, t206 El Principe, 68 Ryan (4, or 4.5 on a good day)

Selling A Large Collection

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